The present invention relates generally to the field of computer software. More particularly, the present invention relates to a computerized system and methods for providing guidance of medication selection.
Clinicians have traditionally made decisions regarding which medication to prescribe for a patient's health condition or illness based on medication information that they have memorized or can quickly look up in a reference guide. The clinician may have learned about a given kind of medication (as an example, a specific anti-inflammatory) from a medical journal, advertisement, educational lecture, or other means. However, clinicians rarely have the time or resources to compare a specific medication with all other medications that provide a similar therapeutic effect and have an acceptable level of efficacy. It may be that medications other than the medication chosen by the clinician can provide the therapeutic benefit that the clinician had intended while better meeting a particular patient's needs. For instance, the chosen medication may not be covered by the patient's healthcare insurance plan, or may otherwise require a high out-of-pocket cost to the patient as compared to other medications that could provide the same therapeutic effect for the patient. The clinician's chosen medication may also have other disadvantages that make proper compliance with the prescription administering difficult. As one example, the chosen medication may have to be dispensed to a patient multiple times a day, whereas a patient would prefer a once-a-day dose. The chosen medication may also be documented to have caused unwanted side effects in a large segment of the population that have taken the medication. In these situations, other medications may be more appropriate to address the specific health condition of the patient.
A solution is needed for providing additional options and guidance in medication selection for a patient that is more tailored to the needs of the particular patient.